In the face of an economic meltdown, six men will risk everything to strike it rich mining for gold in the wilds of Alaska. Todd Hoffman of Sandy, Oregon, along with his father, are leading a group of greenhorn miners in search of the American dream and a new frontier. Gold fever is back, and the rush is on. While leasing a gold claim in Alaska, Todd and company must ward off bears, build homes for their families, and keep the operation running as they take fate into their own hands with a make or break venture that will change their lives forever.

DISC #1

Ep. 1) No Guts, No Glory: Todd Hoffman and his father Jack have hit hard times. They run a small aviation business in Sandy Oregon but it's not doing well and the planes have stopped landing. Todd and Jack aren't the kind of people to take problems lying down. Back in the 80's Jack used to be a gold miner. And with the price of gold going sky high, he's decided it's time to start digging again. He and Todd lease a gold claim called Porcupine Creek in South East Alaska. They recruit a band of unemployed friends to become rookie Gold Miners. The recession has hit the team too. Ex sheet-metal worker, Jim Thurber is about to lose his house. Realtor Jimmy Dorsey is so broke he lives with his mother in law. Mechanic James Harness has destroyed his back in a car wreck and needs money for surgery. Greg Remsburg's last construction job was a year ago. The team of mining greenhorns beg, borrow and build all the equipment they need to mine for gold. Loaded with supplies, they leave their loved ones behind and drive from Oregon to Alaska in a Klondike convoy. They have just five months to set up a gold mine and strike gold before winter closes them down. They face, bear attacks, flooding, constant breakdowns, infighting, fatal illness and many more adventures as they struggle to get down to the gold and save their families.

Ep. 2) Gold, Guns, and Bears: Six unemployed greenhorns continue risking it all to strike gold in Alaska. The stakes get higher at Porcupine Creek as reality sets in about just how little time they have to get to their gold. The miners start to rebuild the ghost town but the bears aren't so keen on their new neighbors- and they let them know it. They visit their neighbor, John Schnabel, who is a 90 year old mining legend with pockets filled with gold. Meanwhile, Todd and Jack can't even agree where or how to start digging for their own gold. Then Jack drops their 22,000 lb rock-shaker off a lowboy and the accident threatens to shut down the mining season before they've even begun to dig.

Ep. 3) Running Dirt: Tensions mount as the greenhorns become more desperate to find gold in Alaska. They've built their camp but now must set up the hand-built mining machines called the wash-plant. They are behind schedule and were supposed to be 'running dirt' two weeks ago. They must see some gold soon and begin to make money or lose everything. The stakes couldn't be higher. They excavate the new site and install the machines. But as they test the plant, it begins to fall apart and so does their only mechanic, James Harnes, who falls dangerously ill. Things get worse when the families arrive from Oregon and ask why they haven't found gold yet. And when Jimmy Dorsey asks Todd for an answer, the gloves come off.

Ep. 4) The Ultimate Price: It's been six weeks since the Hoffmans and their crew of rookie gold miners started building their camp in the wilderness of Alaska. They've been constructing a wash plant from second hand equipment and homemade gear to process gold from dirt. Just as they start run for the first time they are forced to shut down. A visit from Alaska's Department of Fish and Game reveals a code violation and they must close their vital water supply to the mine. Without water, they're out of business. The crew needs to improvise a solution fast. They're triumph is short lived as they finally solve the water problem and run gold dirt for the first time. Just before they discover if they're producing gold, disaster strikes. Todd Hoffman's two-year-old daughter Olivia suffers a seizure then stops breathing on the way down to hospital. Her life and the future of the mine hang in the balance as Todd waits to hear if she'll survive. While the miners and their families weigh up their future at the mine, Jack runs the wash plant without Todd and the final pan is sparkling with gold. The team has finally hit pay-dirt.

Ep. 5) The Pain Barrier: Todd Hoffman pushes his men and their machines to the limit as the crew finally gets the mining operation into gear. Unfortunately, the rock shaker tears apart, bringing the entire operation to a halt … again. The fix costs the team thousands of dollars in steel and far more in lost income as they spend a week repairing instead of mining. Team mechanic, James Harness, has to be rescued from a pit when his chronic back pain causes him to collapse; while realtor, Jimmy Dorsey, drives a wedge between himself and the rest of the crew when he takes on an extra job to earn some cash. The Hoffmans each deep within to get the machines and their crew back on track, and the rookies finally run dirt late into the night resulting in the most gold in their pans since arriving at Porcupine Creek.

DISC #2

Ep. 6) Gold Fever: The miners' futures are on the line at Porcupine Creek. After 80 days, the miners are behind schedule, and the Hoffmans have run out of money and deliver the crew an ultimatum: find $10,000 worth of gold in the next two days, or the families have to head home to Oregon. The rookies stop the wash plant and begin cleanout mode to recover every grain of gold they've secured. Realtor Jimmy Dorsey is put in charge of the new wave table to separate the precious gold from the buckets of black sand, but as he struggles to get it working, gold is flushed away. Tensions flare and fists fly.

Ep. 7) Going For Broke: Todd and Jack Hoffman have run out of money. With winter weather closing in, the end of the mining season is in sight, so Todd calls in a gold recovery expert to help the rookies. When mine owner Earle Foster finds further problems with the Hoffman's set-up, he sends his right hand man to work with the rookies at the claim, and it doesn't go down well with the miners. Meanwhile, Todd discovers a major design flaw in the equipment and is forced to make huge modifications all funded on credit - but his card can only take so much. With no money and credit cards maxed out, Todd is forced to take desperate measures. If he can't find extra cash, he'll have to close the mine in days and head home empty-handed.

Ep. 8) Bad Blood: An outsider, imposed by the owner of the claim, lights a fire under the crew at Porcupine Creek Alaska and nearly gets a hammering for his trouble. After a hundred days, the Hoffmans and their team of rookie miners, have dug themselves deep into a financial hole. Veteran miner "Dakota" Fred Hurt thinks he can sort them out and turn the mine around. He rips bars out of the shaker while no ones about and then pushes the crew and its equipment to the limit. As he cranks up production faster than ever before, the 270 excavator breaks a hose, a rock ramp collapses, the loader gives out and team mechanic James Harness goes for him with a hammer. But Fred's changes finally pay off and tempers calm when they find their first real nugget and thousands of dollars worth of gold.

Ep. 9) Bedrock or Bust: Desperate to get to bedrock and the gold nuggets, Todd and Jack throw caution to the wind and dig deeper than ever before. As they race against the looming brutal Alaskan winter, they face flooding, cave-ins and breakdowns. Chris Doumitt fries the electrics on their vital loader. Todd struggles to keep the wash-plant from freezing up and Thurber looses control when he faces financial ruin. They have a $275,000 dollar debt and only days left strike it rich before the Alaskan winter freezes their fortunes.

Ep. 10) Never Say Die: As winter weather closes in on Porcupine Creek, Todd and Jack are under intense pressure to reach the rich gold deposits they believe lie deep down on bedrock. They've been digging for nearly five months and they must hit nuggets before freezing arctic conditions force them out of Alaska. At sixty five feet, they're deeper than anyone has ever been before on this claim. But the closer they get to the gold, the more dangerous it becomes. Water from rain and thawing snow floods the mine faster than they can pump it out. As they struggle against the freezing elements, Jack puts his life on the line for his crew and the gold. With the ground collapsing all around his massive 100,000 pound excavator, he digs toward the gold as his crew looks at a future of failure or fortune.

the season was wonderful it was really for my husband for his birthday but i sat down and watched it with him and i got hooked woundering if they do get gold and how hared it takes to find it i loked it and i cant wait untill my husband and get a chance to sit down and watch the second season.

I watched this predicatable calamidy of determined, hard working ametures figure out how to mine in Alaska. The annoucer certainly gets old (same comments and adjetives he used in similar documentaries), but watching these guys opperate heavy machineary, much of it unique to the job, and then repair it, refine it, and breaking things again. It's amazing to watch and I gave it to the big machine lovers and engineers in the family.

Don't forget the last episode where the interview the main characters and their production team. This was real life and many lessons about team work, forgivness, and perserverance. And, they do have a sense of humor, you just have to wait for it.

As a serious prospector myself this is a great show, educational on some aspects of mining gold. Other aspects are a bit over dramatic. This is about a great group of people though and the amazing challange and realities of gold mining in Alaska.

I have my DVR set for this show, I don't wont to miss it, I work at Ford motor co. but my jog maybe on the line I won't to help so much I wont to get a few guys together and go there and do the same anyone in with me. please leave Fred home to take care of his home, we need to help Parker and the hoffman's